It was pitch black when I heard voices, tiny voices in my head, very clear as day. I tossed and turned on the very comfortable bed I lay. I was very restless.
I could hear the birds from miles away, I could hear insects singing clearly as though they were very close. This new feeling felt so foreign.
All I ever experienced was the ability to talk to animals and understand exactly what they were saying, but only when they were very close. But now it felt like she could hear the whole animals in the forest ten miles away.
Her heart was beating at a very fast rate, her mind was in disarray, she was going mad, so she did the only thing she could think of, she let out a heart wrenching scream.
She kept screaming, tossing and turning on the bed, it was overwhelming. She was drowning, then she felt two strong hands pull her up and that was all she remembered.
"...her powers are multiplying. I don't know how that is possible"
I heard someone say but it sounded like they were talking from a mile away.
I was fighting to gain consciousness.
"Maybe she inhaled a lot of the gas and it did severe damage to her genes"
they kept on saying
Were they talking about me?
Am I dying?
I need to stay alive, I haven't seen Ma yet. I need to find her.
I struggled to regain consciousness again.
" Her hands are moving...Keturah"
I heard my name but it still sounded very distant.
Someone was shaking me now.
"Keturah..."
It sounded closer now.
Please keep calling me?
I wield the person.
But the person didn't continue.
There was total silence.
And I fell into the darkness again.
The sun was very bright up in the sky when I finally opened my eyes. With the cloudless sky, the rays of the sun were always very direct and harsh.
The room tilted a little as I tried to sit up so I layed back down.
I placed my hands on my head to stop my head from spinning.
As if that would work.
After a while I tried sitting up again, I leaned against the headboard and shut my eyes again.
"You're up..." an excited voice said, rushing towards me.
I opened my eyes slowly to see Stacey looking at me with sad eyes.
Her hair was packed up in a messy bun and she had on a pair of glasses.
"Am I dying?"
I asked, my voice coming out hoarse
"No sweetie, don't say that.."
"Then what is wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?"
I asked again, a drop of tears slipping from my eye.
"We don't know what's wrong with you but we are going to find out"
"How are you going to do that?"
" We took a sample of your blood last night and my husband is still getting it checked"
I closed my eyes again
"I called in Doctor Tucker, there is something very strange going on...." John said as soon as he walked into the room.
Then he looked my way and his eyes widened
"Oh you're up"
He added slowly
"What's going on?" I asked again, looking him directly in the eye.
"You can tell me anything, the world is already a mess, there is nothing I'll hear now that would make me fret. Am I dying?"
"Calm down Keturah. I'm not going to let anything happen to you"
He said looking me straight in the eye.
I believed him.
It was dark when the doctor came, he walked straight into John's lab and they shut the door. I could hear hushed tones coming from there.
I was fumbling with my glass of water. My heart was racing. So much for the long speech about not fretting.
I can't die, Ma needs me. I could feel it.
Carlo was sitting close to me on the large table, he kept a straight face as he looked into space.
He looked calm. I wish I could be like that.
I felt a hand on my knee and I looked up to see him staring at me.
"What is it?"
My voice was barely a whisper
"You've been bouncing your leg for over thirty minutes now"
"Ohhh....."
That was all I could say.
"For what it's worth, you are a fighter and I believe whatever it is, you're a going to fight it"
I looked at him, tears threatening to flow.
Then I looked away quickly.
The hand on my knee was still there and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable so I cleared my throat.
As if getting the signal he looked at me
"Sorry but I'm not taking my hands off, I don't want you shaking your leg again"
"It's my way of coping with anxiety"
"If I heard clearly, you told my Dad that nothing bothers you again"
He said raising a dark brow
I looked away embarrassed
"I was just trying to get him to talk"
His blue eyes stared deeply at me before he said
"Nice"
We sat in silence for a while
"How long were you in that forest all alone?"
His voice sounded strained
"Almost eleven years"
He shook his head, his eyes looking sadly at me
"Please don't pity me, I don't need anyone's pity"
"I don't pity you. You survived and that is all that matters now. Not everybody would have"
The door to the lab opened and we stood up.
Their faces looked sombre.
Whatever the news is, it must be bad.
"Please can someone just tell me what is going on?"
I said placing my hands on my head
"The poison is spreading everywhere" The doctor started
"Your powers are multiplying, you might experience multiple powers in the future"
"Okayyy... That doesn't sound bad at all"
I said cautiously
"In a few years the poison would gradually eat up the body system turning the human it inhabits into dust"
There was a slight pause, then he continued
"But in your case you don't have a few years, you have a few days before the poison turns you to dust"
========
A simple question still hanging in the air, No reply forthcoming and two pairs of eyes staring each other down.
The staring contest was becoming intense, grey eyes staring at brown ones, non relenting.
This wasn't the first staring contest they have engaged in before, they have had lots and lots of staring contests, but this was by far the most intense they have ever had.
After five minutes of the intense staring, the one with the grey eyes finally spoke up
"I asked you a question. Where are the documents? And don't you dare act dumb I know they are with you"
Maria let out a scoff before replying the probably insane woman standing in front of her
"And you think I'm with the documents because?"
Katherine shrugged. She had no proof whatsoever that Maria was with the documents but she had to do all in her power to make her confess to taking them.
"You think if I was with the documents I'll still be here?"
"Maybe you're still here because you're looking for ways to blackmail me"
Maria rolled her eyes.
She had always been the level headed one, she always tried to keep her cool even when some situations didn't usually call for it. She tried to endure everything that was hauled at her, because she knew that when she snapped, it was definitely going to get bloody.
Staring down at the woman accusing her of a crime she had thought about for years now, all she felt was renewed motivation to actually find those documents and put an end to the madness.
"You sound so juvenile. I can't deal with this right now"
Maria said and headed for the door. With her hand on the knob she paused and turned back to face the accuser
"I don't have the documents, but if I were you, I'll try my very best to find them because if I find them before you do, I won't hesitate to take them straight to the authorities"
"You won't do that"
"Ohhh I would, don't try me. You don't know what I'm capable of"
"What happened to us? We were such good friends, we were the best of friends. When did we become like this?" Katherine asked, gesturing between the both of them.
"Yeah we were the best of friends, but whose fault is it that we aren't anymore? Definitely not mine"
With that Maria turned and shut the door with a loud bang.
Maria kept walking down the hall toward the lab, she needed to make that antidote as soon as possible, the world needs her and she mustn't fail.
As she walked into the lab she saw Cathy pacing around nervously as soon as she saw her walk in she ran towards her
"Ma you had an urgent call"
"From who?"
"From Doctor Turker, he said he found your daughter